Hunger
by Ringtailed-Sheepdog
Summary: When the Torchwood team are called out to a gruesome murder scene, Jack is quick to label it; 'business as usual'. The team, however, soon find out it's far from it. Set between series 2 and 3. Rated T for gore, sexual references and language.
1. Chapter 1

"It'll be fun."

Rhys turned sharply to glare across at his wife, a look of disbelief and defiance on his face. It was no secret that Rhys Williams somewhat disliked Jack. What man liked having to fight for the love of his own wife? Especially when his 'rival' was a Greek statue in fleshy humanoid form. Gwen rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Jack invited you to come eat with us," she said, making a sharp gesture towards Rhys with her head, as her hands were somewhat preoccupied holding the box that contained their meal for the night, "He knows you don't like me coming home late, Rhys. He does like you."

With his eyes fixed on the tourist office door which made up a false front for the Torchwood Hub, Rhys attempted to cool off a bit before he continued talking to Gwen. He didn't enjoy the arguments they had and he was pretty sure that Gwen felt the same way. It was just her job. Her job and her boss. Rhys had been trying to come to terms with Captain Jack Harkness He honestly had, but he was a mystery, even to men alike. The only people he seemed to fit in with were the people he worked with. The people that kept themselves locked away from the real world, battling aliens and some such down in that 'secret sci-fi super base'. A smile popped onto his face and he quickly realised that Gwen had turned to him, offering the box of Chinese.

"What's so funny?" she asked, also smiling, but more out of relief that the tension had subsided in their short moment of silence, than actual amusement.

Handing the box over to Rhys, she quickly let them into the office front, tapping in her code faster than Rhys' brain could keep up with. She shut the door securely behind them and moved towards the desk.

"It's just all a bit bizarre, you know?" he said in reply to her earlier question, looking around at the office and taking in just how normal it was compared to the scenery he'd have in a few minutes, "My wife, battling intergalactic threats and stuff. Bit comic book, isn't it?"

Gwen let slip a laugh and pressed the button so the secret door to the side of the reception desk opened. Rhys hovered by it, waiting for Gwen to lead the way in so he didn't get shot on sight, or whatever Torchwood did upon discovering intruders. Even if he had been invited, a little cautiousness never went amiss. The descent was quick, and soon they were standing on the metal grilled flooring of the Hub. It was still an awe inspiring site, and Rhys still gawped at the thought that this colossal subterranean structure was hidden away under the Millennium Centre and no one knew about it.

"Jack?" called Gwen as she paced confidently into the Hub, gesturing behind her with one hand which Rhys interpreted as a sign to follow, "Ianto? You better not have left."

Setting the Chinese down on Gwen's workstation, Rhys watched as his wife climbed the stairs up to Jack's office. Knocking on Jack's door, she glanced back down at Rhys and smiled. Without waiting for a reply, she went in.

"Jack, dinner's…" she stared for a second and giggled quietly, "S-Sorry, I wasn't interrupting, was I?"

Ianto was perched on Jack's desk, one hand splayed on the wooden surface, the other resting on the thigh of a leg propped up on the leather seat of Jack's chair. Jack was in the aforementioned chair, slouched back and looking as content as she'd seen him in a long time. He had his eyes focused on Ianto's face, watching with: amusement? Curiosity? Adoration maybe? Of course, the pair of them looked like they were sharing a private moment and she could tell it was a somewhat intimate conversation by the way they both immediately snapped to look at her as she had said Jack's name.

It was quite funny actually how they kept their relationship in the shadows, like school kids too embarrassed to bring it to air. The team knew about some of it. The kiss Jack had given Ianto after coming back from the death caused by Abbadon was hardly a secret. Tosh had bought it up in a conversation a few days later saying how comfortable they looked together. Gwen had nodded a little in response, clutching her warm coffee mug in both hands and Owen had made a gagging sound and wandered back to his autopsy.

They were a little more open after that. They still didn't talk openly about anything, and no one heard of any dates, but Ianto may as well have been wearing a sign around his neck that said 'I'm shagging the boss' with some of the remarks he would slip into conversations. Jack's reactions were entertaining to say the least.

It wasn't until a few months later that Gwen had managed to invade on something quite private that really gave their relationship away. Yes, comfortable was one way of describing how they were together. Very 'comfortable'. Ianto didn't need a sign around his neck this time. It was pretty obvious.

Caught up in her memories, Gwen had completely forgotten why she was standing in Jack's office. Luckily, it didn't seem to bother either of the men that she was letting in a draft.

"Did you say dinner?" asked Jack, sitting upright, "Lemon chicken?"

Clearly she hadn't been standing there for too long or else Jack would've been staring at her in that way that he did. With the furrowed eyebrows and the little head tilt. She didn't know what Ianto would do; File her?

She smiled and nodded, "Bingo."

"What are we waiting for then?" he said, bringing his hands down on the desk either side of Ianto and pushing himself to his feet, "I'm starving."

"I'll put the kettle on for some tea, shall I, Sir?" asked Ianto, eyes focused back on Jack as though Gwen wasn't standing right there in the doorway, "Can't have Chinese without green tea."

The Captain was quick to flash one of his amazing grins, "Right as always, Ianto Jones."

Ok, Gwen had to admit that they were a sweet and (very) attractive couple. Despite the past feelings she'd had for Jack (which had thankfully mostly gone since her wedding) she was happy he was with Ianto. Scary how like minded they were sometimes. Very scary. She turned her back to them and wandered out. A glance back saw Jack whispering something rather intimately in the tea boy's ear as he wandered around the desk. The rest Gwen wouldn't know because Rhys, being the saint the was, had sorted everything out and even dispensed of the cardboard crate it came in and she'd quickly made her way down the stairs to reward his efforts with an extravagant hug and a kiss.

"Don't mind me," he said with a grin, "I'm just gunna steal some of them prawn crackers."

"Go on then, but be quick," she laughed quietly, watching the stairs as Jack made his way down, hands in pockets. An intimidating figure if not known well.

He reached the bottom of the stairs and smiled, "Evening Rhys." He said with a gracious nod in his direction.

"Alright mate?"

Gwen could almost squeal in delight as she watched two of her favourite men getting on like old friends. She expected some light-hearted teasing and disagreements throughout the meal, but that would make things all the more interesting. Surprisingly enough, Ianto was good at playful and witty banter and would be the first to set Jack off on one. Funny to listen to, and even funnier to watch. Then Jack would probably tell some crazy stories about his travels across the stars and through time.

Well into the meal, all chairs had shuffled around the sofa which Gwen and Rhys had happily hijacked and got cosy on, feet resting on their original chairs. Jack was doing his absolute best to shovel as much rice into his mouth as he could with a set of chopsticks earning a snort of laughter from Ianto, comfortably set up with makeshift napkin bib to protect his freshly dry-cleaned suit.

It was all so cosy, thought Gwen, smiling at the sight of a giggling Ianto, the shameless way Jack swept stray rice from his cheek and the warm arm that covered her shoulders protectively. She was lucky to have such good friends. Lucky to have met the people she had, even if their lives were taken far too soon. And despite the somewhat sombre thoughts of Tosh and Owen, she smiled.

Then the phone rang.

Jack dropped his almost empty rice pot onto his chair and took the stairs to his office two at a time. It was just their luck that someone would phone in the early hours of the evening. Hopefully it wouldn't be serious. Minutes later, Jack was peering over the banister, yelling.

"Suit and boot guys, we've got a job to do."

At these words, Gwen's heart sank, and she could visibly see Ianto's face drop into his usual neutral expression.

"Bloody Torchwood," muttered Rhys.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ok," sighed Jack, glancing at Ianto on his left, "The police have called us in on this investigation because they think that it's suspicious somehow. That and we're clearly better at their jobs than they are."

In the passenger seat, Ianto rolled his eyes as he set his gun to safety and set it comfortably in the back of his suit trousers. Jack grinned for a second before his thoughts were interrupted by a snort of laughter in the back of the SUV and what sounded like children squabbling. Jack knew better than to assume there were children in the SUV. Ianto would kill him.

"Don't make me come back there, kids," he teased, glancing quickly over his shoulder .

"Jack!" exclaimed Gwen, "Please tell Rhys to stay in the SUV. He's being an ass."

With a sigh, Ianto looked out the window, awaiting the fireworks. Jack smiled.

"No can do, Gwen," he said with a laugh, "Rhys. Stick with Gwen, do as she says. If you don't, and there is something suspicious going on, you'll be the first one to vanish mysteriously."

There was silence and Jack could feel the smugness almost radiating off Gwen from her seat directly behind Ianto. From Rhys all he got was a good jab in the back with a knee through the back of the seat. The Captain brushed it off and carried on driving and attempting to brief the quiet and simmering couple in the back seats. Ianto had since turned back to look out the front window.

"What are we expecting to find, Sir?" asked Ianto politely, as always.

"Well, whoever was on the other end of the phone earlier was obviously a hardened police officer," started Jack, "Because they didn't even waver when they started talking about the state of the body."

Ianto gulped. He didn't have the strongest stomach in the world, so he hoped it really wasn't as bad as Jack was making it out to be.

He was wrong. As they stepped out of the SUV and into the dark, cold rain Ianto quickly spotted the yellow police warning tape and the tent positioned above the body, presumably. Jack always liked to hope there was something interesting going on in one of those tents, but he never had any luck. Perhaps Ianto would 'borrow' one from the police department, and he and Jack could have their own 'party' in it. Perhaps that was going a little too far. Didn't matter now, because as Ianto swept back the curtain at the entrance of the tent, he regretted it instantly. Jack was blank as he stood over the 'corpse' and Gwen looked like she was going to puke. Unfortunately, Rhys hadn't been able to stomach the smell of blood alone and had hurtled out of the tent, throwing up somewhere behind the SUV.

"I'm…" Ianto swallowed down some bile that threatened to escape him if he stood around much longer, "I'll make sure Rhys is Ok."

Gwen nodded, one arm tucked up against her chin, the other clasping her elbow with whitened knuckles and her bottom lip sucked in between her teeth. Jack glanced over and gave Ianto a sympathetic smile. He knew instantly that Ianto was glad for a reason to escape the bloody carcass that was spread haphazard around the tent. He'd been the first to witness Ianto's weak stomach at work. Tosh had narrowly escaped it down in the cellar of that terrible, terrible house in the Breacon Beacons, and that was because he was so desperate to escape, and so hyped up on adrenaline, that he hadn't the time for throwing up. However, Jack was with him at the Hub when they'd returned, knelt by the toilet beside him, rubbing his shoulder soothingly.

Ianto felt some comfort from that as he made his escape. Darting around the SUV, he came face to face with an exhausted and slightly green Rhys. He smiled gently and leaned against the sodden black metal work of the SUV. The look on Rhys' face clearly showed that he wanted to get home and warm before something bad happened. Something like in that tent.

"It's alright," said Ianto in his usual, business like tone which in itself was quite relaxing, "Gwen's good at keeping herself together in these situations. She's an admirable woman."

Rhys laughed and tipped his head back to look at the few stars that blinked through the orange haze of the city lights, "You can say that again. Bloody brilliant she is."

Ianto bobbed his head in an appreciative nod and joined Rhys with his stargazing, "I never really got to know her until the incidents with Owen and Tosh." He swallowed the lump that formed in his throat and continued professionally, "I'm glad I have, because we've become more tight knit than we ever would've dreamt of being."

"What about you and Jack?"

With a shake of his head, Ianto looked down to his feet, "What about me and Jack?"

"Never mind."

Back in the tent, the forensics kit was out, and Gwen was trying her hardest to identify anything that might give a clue as to what killed…it. It was pretty human looking from what Gwen could find of it. The head and torso were still attached to each other, despite being in a bad shape. The face was torn up; a lot of the muscled chunks missing. Cheeks and jaw mainly, but there were signs of struggle all over. The throat had been shredded, all the main arteries severed and emptied over the concrete. The chest cavity had been cleaned out, muscle torn from bone in a primal way. Jack sighed as he found yet another piece of shattered leg and piled it onto the other pieces he'd collected.

"It looks like it's been eaten," stated Jack flatly, holding up a dismembered forearm with hand attached apart from the thumb muscle, "By something with no table manners."

Gwen sniggered, "Like you, for example?"

Jack made a gagging sound, "Oh, don't even bring up food now. I'm not completely immune to puking at completely gross things."

An image of 'dead but not dead' Owen standing on his head in a jail cell sprang to mind at that statement which Jack mentally labelled as 'the single most disgusting thing he'd ever seen'. They needed Owen because otherwise this autopsy was going to be a complete disaster. Of course, that wasn't possible. Owen was well and truly dead, so Jack settled with the prospect of 'the autopsy from hell'.

After a few hours of bouncing questions and ideas off each other, Gwen and Jack packed up the forensics kit they had and moved the body and the loose parts to the SUV so they could go back to the Hub. They hadn't come to any conclusions as of yet. The cause of death was so far obscured by the damage the body had sustained, and the status of the killer was the same. Unidentified.

"So?" asked Ianto, his face towards the slightly open window so that the fresh air hit him before the stench of fresh blood choked him, "What do we do now?"

"The autopsy."

Gwen groaned loudly showing her disapproval of Jack's idea, "There's no point. It's mangled," she almost whined, "And I don't really fancy manhandling chunks of human again."

Ianto suddenly realised that he had a burning sensation on the back of his head and he looked around to confirm his suspicions. Jack was staring at him somewhat cruelly. Ianto didn't know what he was playing at, but he didn't think wanted to know.

"You don't have to Gwen," Jack replied complacently, "I'll drop you and Rhys home so you can get some rest and recover from your hard work and-" he looked at Rhys in the rear view mirror and smiled unusually warmly, "-Your vomiting."

"So you're going to do the autopsy alone?" asked Gwen, shocked by Jack's response, "You'll still be working tomorrow morning."

"Don't worry," Jack laughed, "Ianto's going to help me, aren't you Ianto?"

Oh God no. Jack wanted him to help with an autopsy. That was cruel. He knew Ianto had a weak stomach. He was a wimp. Queasy at the sight of blood. With more good reasons to be than Jack could wave a stick at. But how could he say no to his boss? The answer was stuck in his throat. A simple 'No, sir' may have done the trick, but when he forced himself to speak, he didn't quite say what he was thinking.

"Of course, Sir."

Ianto let his head fall against the reinforced glass window with a 'thud' and breathed deeply, letting the cool air wash over him. Tonight was going to be a really, really long night.


End file.
